Why didn't you wait?
by Fido
Summary: After six years, Ranma returns to Nerima only to find almost everything changed.
1. Prologue

"Six years," I whispered as I hopped off the train   
car before it stopped at the Nerima station.  
  
That's how long it 's been. Six long,   
hard years, but the only good thing to come from   
it was I now know who I loved. Loved more than anything   
in the world.   
  
Akane Tendo.   
  
I wonder if her cooking has been declared a chemical  
weapon yet? Then I chuckled. Even her cooking would be  
better than some of the slop I've had to eat.  
  
A quick sprint takes me away from the tracks before anyone   
can notice how I left the train. It would definately be   
a bad thing if I got thrown in jail on my first day   
back. I smiled slightly as a vision of her filled my   
mind.   
  
My heart started to race and I decide that I have to   
see her now. Hold her in my arms and tell her that I   
love her before something else keeps us apart.  
  
So I begin to hop the roofs. Some people actually see   
me and I hear snippets of their reaction.  
  
"Who is that?!?"  
  
"Aw man, I wish I could do that!"  
  
"That sure looked like Ranma Saotome but that's impossible. I   
heard he's ..."  
  
"I don't know who he is but he sure is cute!"  
  
A part of me wants to shout out 'Sorry, I' m spoken for!' but   
it dies when I see my destination. The front gate of the dojo.  
I land on the last roof and almost start down when the gate   
opens and..I see her.  
  
Her hair is longer and she looks older but it's her. It's   
amazing how even when she wears something as simple as   
jeans and a T-shirt can make her look so good.  
  
God, she's more beautiful than ever.  
  
I watch her as she looked back to the house and shouted:  
  
"You'd better hurry up! You're running late!"  
  
"I know! I know!"  
  
The male voice that called back took me by surprise. The man   
that comes out a few seconds later I don't recognize at   
all. Must be Kasumi's husband or something.  
  
He began to run down the street at full speed.   
  
"Hey idiot! Aren't you forgetting something?"  
  
Her yell brings him to an instant stop then he turned around   
and ran back to her.   
  
"Sorry, " I heard him say, "Sigh, what would I ever do   
without you?"  
  
"What indeed?" Akane replied, cocking an eyebrow that   
reminded me of Nabiki.  
  
"Probably be a complete moron. Well, bye honey."   
  
What did he call her?!??!   
  
My jaw dropped as I watched them move closer then they  
kissed....  
  
and my world shattered.  
  
  
Why didn't you wait?  
  
by David 'Fido' Lindquist  
  
Disclaimer: Ranma 1/2 is owned by Rumkiko Takahashi. All   
rights reserved.  
  
Email: fido@rma.edu 


	2. Chapter 1

Why didn't you wait?  
  
by  
  
David Lindquist  
  
Disclaimer:Ranma 1/2 and it's characters are  
the property of Rumiko Takahashi and various licensed  
companies. All other characters belong to me. All  
rights reserved.  
  
Acknowledgments: My thanks to Karaohki, Gary Kleppe,  
Brian Randall, Lief Johnson, Kit, Doug and the FFirc Hour   
Challenge groups that helped preread this. Also I   
want to give my thanks to Lerche, the missing   
prereader, who tried to preread this but couldn't   
due to real life. C&C and comments will be greatly   
welcome. Thank  
you.  
  
() means spoken in chinese.  
  
Chapter 1 (Homecoming)  
  
  
As they embraced outside the gate, Akane enjoyed the  
warmth of Jo's lips on hers. Finally, he broke off the  
kiss.  
  
"Try not to spend all day training, okay?" he said  
then looked at his watch. "Oh boy, now I'm REALLY  
late! I'll see you later! Bye!"  
  
*Hmm... nice,* Akane thought as she watched him  
leave. A taste similar to honey and sugar lingered  
in her mouth. It still amazed her that after almost  
two years of their relationship, they still felt like  
newlyweds. She shook her head.  
  
*Stop it, Akane, otherwise you'll be standing  
here all day with a stupid grin on your  
face!* she thought to herself.  
  
Despite her admonishment, she still stayed and  
watched him go off to work. A part of her smiled at  
the fact that she inspired a similar type of  
scatter-brained reaction in her husband that Kasumi  
did to Dr. Tofu.  
  
*I'd never get a reaction like that from--* A small  
sigh escaped her lips at the memory of him.  
*--Ranma.*  
  
The thought of her late fiance instantly killed her  
good mood. An all too familiar pang of despair welled  
up within her but she violently shoved it back down.  
  
*Damn it! Why do I keep bringing him up?! That  
idiot...* The rest of the thought trailed off,  
then Akane let out a another sigh.  
  
*No use in going through this again. What's done  
is done.*  
  
She turned around and walked back into the front  
yard. On her way, she glanced at the dojo.  
  
*Hmm,* Akane thought, then smiled. *If I hurry, I  
can get a couple of hours practice before I have  
to get the housework done!*  
  
-------------  
  
Ranma didn't know how long he stood and stared  
at the gate. She had left a long time ago but that  
didn't matter to him. All his mind could do was  
replay what it saw.  
  
Akane.  
  
His Akane!  
  
Kissing someone else.  
  
It took a bit for him to gather his thoughts enough  
to leave. He quickly jumped off the roof, and walked  
away.  
  
*How could she... Could she be under some sort of mind  
control?* He shook his head. *No, I can't see Kuno or  
Ryoga letting her be used like that. Unless they were  
doing the using.*  
  
Ranma paid just enough attention to where he was going  
to keep from running into anything as he wandered the  
Nerima streets. His mind kept mulling over what he saw  
while trying to figure out why Akane would betray him.  
  
-----------------  
  
"Thank you for coming to The Cat Cafe."  
  
The smile plastered on the large, muscular man's  
face lasted until the customer left, then it turned  
into a scowl.  
  
*I'm a fighter, not a waitress!* he thought  
bitterly as he closed the cash register.  
  
"(Husband!)"  
  
The man immediately turned to the beautiful Amazon  
that came out of the kitchen.  
  
"(Yes, Shampoo?)"  
  
"(Fix us some lunch while I finish up in the  
storage room.)"  
  
"(Of course, Love,)" His reply held no malice,  
only admiration and affection.  
  
Shampoo just rolled her eyes and went back  
into the kitchen.  
  
The man went into the kitchen then wrapped his long  
braid of hair around his neck a few times to keep  
it out of the way. The sound of the door chimes  
drew his attention away from his preparations. As he  
walked back into the dining area, he frowned at  
the thought of having to serve another customer, but  
one look at the woman who entered brought a small  
smile to his face.  
  
"Good afternoon, Ukyo," he said. "What brings  
you here?"  
  
"Hello Reno," the okonomiyaki chef replied. "Here's  
those distributors' phone numbers you wanted."  
  
She put down her bags, reached into one, and pulled  
out a sheet of paper.  
  
"Here you go," she said, then set it on the  
counter.  
  
"Why don't you stay for a bit while I make us  
some tea?"  
  
"I can use some."  
  
The exhausted tone of her voice didn't go  
unnoticed by Reno.  
  
"So, how are you doing?"  
  
The woman sat down near the counter and adjusted  
the large spatula on her back.  
  
"I'm okay, Reno," she replied wearily. "I guess."  
  
The dark coloring under her eyes and the way she  
kept running her hand through her short hair told  
him a different story.  
  
"Tsubasa getting worse?" Reno asked as he started  
making two cups of tea.  
  
"You'd better believe it, sugar! Yesterday, he  
disguised himself as a bag of flour and jumped out  
at me when I went into the pantry. And last night I  
attacked my laundry because I thought it was him  
in disguise!"  
  
He nodded slightly, then handed her a cup.  
  
"You going to call the cops?" he asked.  
  
"Feh!" she snorted. "They won't do anything!"  
  
"Well, why don't you-- *KLANG!*"  
  
Ukyo jumped when she saw the frying pan bounce  
off of Reno's head. Both of them immediately turned  
and looked where it had come from.  
  
"Husband! Why no fix lunch?!" Shampoo growled as she  
walked in.  
  
"I-I was talking to Ukyo."  
  
"Can talk and cook at same time!" she said. "Stupid  
male!"  
  
"Y-yes, love!" he stammered, then turned to  
Ukyo to apologize but she just waved him off.  
  
"I have to get going anyway. Thanks for the tea."  
  
Shaking her head, Ukyo picked up her bags and left  
the restaurant. As soon as she was out of sight, Reno  
frowned.  
  
"(There are better ways to get my attention, my  
love.)"  
  
"(You shouldn't be so friendly with her,)" Shampoo  
said simply.  
  
"(I'm just greasing the spokes,) he replied. "(We  
need her to tell us if Queen Heart shows up.)"  
  
"(When, not if,)" she said irritably, then sighed.  
Shampoo walked up to him, locked her arms around his  
waist and nuzzled his back. "(Don't worry. He will be  
here and when he does arrive, we'll get everything  
settled.)"  
  
The Amazon warrior didn't see the worried look on  
his face.  
  
**************  
  
After she left the Cat Cafe, Ukyo shook her head.  
  
*I can't believe the way they act sometimes,* she  
thought.  
  
For a moment, the okonomiyaki chef wondered how the  
two of them had ever got together, then she shrugged her  
shoulders. It was none of her business anyway and Ukyo  
had enough problems as is without butting her nose  
into other people's personal affairs.  
  
As she walked past the various stores along her  
route home, she noticed the lingering looks  
some of the guys gave her. Despite her slight   
discomfort at the thought of strangers checking   
her out like a throughbred racehorse before the   
Kentucky Derby, the attention made her smile.  
  
*It's nice to know men find me attractive,* she  
thought, then her troubles of the past two weeks  
brought her back to reality. *Too bad only the weirdos  
pursue me.*  
  
The aroma of baked bread vaguely registered in her  
mind. Ukyo cast a glance at the small bakery as she  
walked by.  
  
*Not far now,* she sighed.  
  
  
**************  
  
A whiff of fresh baked goods stirred Ranma from his  
thoughts. It reminded him that he hadn't eaten since  
yesterday. A large part of the troubled martial artist  
wanted to ignore the hunger, but spending most of his  
life on the road had taught him to grab food when he  
could regardless of how he felt.  
  
He looked up and started searching for the source of  
the smell, but stopped when a woman with a bag  
of groceries entered his field of vision.  
  
Her black hair was cut extremely short, like he'd seen on  
a few US soldiers during his travels. The blue sundress  
she wore accented her figure almost perfectly. Despite  
how nice she looked, her face showed a weariness that  
just didn't fit at all. Normally, he wouldn't have given  
her a second look except for what was strapped onto her  
back.  
  
A large spatula.  
  
Before Ranma realized it, he had shouted her childhood   
nickname.  
  
"UCCHAN!"  
  
**********************  
  
A vaguely familiar voice dragged Ukyo from  
her thoughts. She looked up and searched the street  
for the person who called her name. The only  
person there was a handsome, muscular man with a  
pigtail braid in his hair. The moment she saw him, the  
okonomiyaki chef froze.  
  
It was impossible.  
  
*No...,* Ukyo thought as the color drained from  
her face. *It can't be!*  
  
She almost took a step back but stopped  
herself.  
  
*That isn't Ranma! Ranma's gone! He's been...*  
  
The rest of her protests stopped as one name jumped  
into her mind and it began to fill her with a growing  
rage. She knew he would stoop pretty low to get her  
affection, but this was way out of line!  
  
"Ucchan?"  
  
Ukyo ignored him as she placed her groceries down,  
then unsheathed her battle spatula.  
  
*The bastard even got his voice right!*  
  
He seemed to become even more confused when she leapt  
into the air and slashed her weapon towards him and  
shouted:  
  
"TSUBASA! YOU ASSHOLE!"  
  
******************  
  
As Ranma dodged her swing, he struggled to figure  
out why Ucchan was acting like this. First, she looked  
like she had seen a ghost and now, Ucchan was trying to  
kill him!  
  
*Has everyone gone crazy?!* he thought and dodged  
another blow. By reflex, he countered with a kick to  
her side. Ranma realized to his horror that he had put  
all his power into it. Fortunately, Ukyo blocked with her  
spatula but the force of the blow easily broke it in half  
and sent her flying back.  
  
****************  
  
She sat up and looked at her now broken weapon. She was  
in shock over the easewith which Tsubasa had destroyed it.  
  
"Wha..?"  
  
"Are you okay?!"  
  
Ukyo nodded absently and continued to stare at the two  
halves of her spatula.  
  
"How..." she said but noticed that Ranma had grabbed her  
arms.  
  
"What the hell are you doing?!" he demanded.  
  
Ukyo could only stare at him. There was no way Tsubasa  
could have gotten that good in a day. She then examined  
him closely. He definitely needed a bath. For some reason,  
his hair was longer and more unruly. It didn't look like  
a wig at all. His face though... Sharper. More defined,  
like he was older?  
  
"Oh my god!" She blurted out "It's not a disguise!."  
  
"Yeah!" He said.  
  
"R-Ranma?"  
  
"Nice of you to remember me!" he replied  
sarcastically.  
  
The okonomiyaki chef just looked at him for a second then  
began to pass out.  
  
The last thing she heard was Ranma voice saying, "Aw,  
man..."  
  
************************  
  
On a nearby rooftop, a lone figure watched the events of  
Ranma and Ukyo's meeting unfold. The figure paid  
particular attention to Ranma's reactions during their  
fight.  
  
*You've gotten stronger,* it thought then frowned, *and  
angrier.*  
  
As the figure observed Ranma pick up the unconscious Ukyo  
and leap on the rooftops towards Ucchan's, the individual  
couldn't help but feel a great sense of foreboding and  
sorrow.  
  
"You should have stayed away," the figure whispered. "Now  
the die is cast."  
  
***********************  
  
With Ukyo and her packages precariously balanced in his  
arms, Ranma entered her restaurant.  
  
"KONATSU!"  
  
His voice echoed throughout the building without any  
reply. He set the packages on the counter, then took a  
quick look around.  
  
*Everything looks the same,* he thought. *Now where's  
Konatsu?*  
  
"Konatsu! Ukyo needs some help!"  
  
After another minute of silence, Ranma decided that  
it would be up to him to take care of Ukyo. At least  
until the cross-dressing ninja came back. Walking  
to the stairs, Ranma gently carried her up to the  
living quarters.  
  
He slid back the door, then entered the room. Ranma  
laid her on the floor, dragged out her bedding and  
began to get it ready for use. As he turned to finish  
the job, the martial artist gaped at what he saw  
sitting at the far end of the room.  
  
A picture of himself sat there, bracketed by two  
almost completely melted candles. In front of it  
was a small offering plate. It appeared to have  
been recently used.  
  
*What the... ? I know she had a thing for me but  
this is just too much! I'm gonna have to have a long  
talk with her.*  
  
Once he set up her futon, the martial artist  
carefully lifted up his childhood friend and tucked  
her in. Ranma was somewhat relieved to see that  
some of the color had returned to her face. He sat down  
on the floor, leaned back against the wall and  
wondered why his friend had reacted the way she  
did.  
  
*It was like she was scared of me. She did think  
I was Tsubasa until I grabbed her. Maybe she's having  
problems with him again.*  
  
The martial artist made a note to find Tsubasa and  
have a chat with him. He owed Ukyo that much at  
least. Ranma unconsciously nodded his head in  
agreement. He then noticed the grime and dirt that  
covered his clothes and hands.  
  
"Oh, man, I didn't think I was this bad!" he  
said.  
  
He got up and grabbed his stuff. After one last  
check on Ukyo, Ranma quickly walked into the  
bathroom.  
  
*It'll be nice to get at least some of the grime  
off. I hope Ukyo will forgive me for  
not asking permission.*  
  
After setting the backpack on the counter, he opened  
it and looked inside.  
  
"Now what shall I wear?" Ranma said sarcastically.  
  
There were three sets of clothing: A slightly torn  
red leotard, the suit he had received after a  
very short stay at a U.S army base while  
they sorted out how he had stopped a group of  
terrorists from destroying the place, and  
finally, a black Chinese pant and shirt set. He  
still remembered the day they were  
given to him.  
  
*The villagers really didn't need to be that  
grateful. After all, it was only a small group of  
bandits that were harassing them. They barely made  
me work up a sweat. Not like some of the other  
times.*  
  
He took the set out and put them aside. They would  
have to do for now.  
  
Once that was done, Ranma stripped off his clothes,  
then sat down to rinse himself off. He ignored the  
activation of his curse as the cold water hit him.  
  
*I hope Ucchan wakes up soon. Maybe she can tell me  
what's going on around... *  
  
The rest of his thought was interrupted when he saw  
movement out of the corner of his eye.  
  
"UKYO! I LOVE YOU!"  
  
A pair of hands suddenly wrapped around her chest  
in a tight embrace. Before she could react, Ranma froze  
as a memory flashed across her mind....  
  
Queen Heart's ribs hurt.  
  
Renard Lacroix, her opponent in this match, was  
good but nothing she normally couldn't handle. However,  
ever since the fight started, the pigtailed girl had  
been in a mental fog, unable to do more than defend  
herself against him. Their last exchange ended when  
he connected with her side. She barely dodged another  
series of blows, then rolled to the far corner of the  
combat platform.  
  
Over the cheers of the arena crowd, she could hear his  
taunts clearly.  
  
"Come on, beautiful! It won't be so bad! In fact, I  
gar-run-tee you'll enjoy it!"  
  
She snorted slightly and fought down the urge to  
throw up. As the martial artist began to circle her  
opponent, she wished that her guardian, The Gambling  
King, had never made that stupid 'If you can defeat  
her, you can date her' challenge. Despite three  
years of effort, no one had done it, but if she didn't  
pick up the pace....  
  
*I just need to get it together,* she  
thought as the martial artist cast a glance to  
where her mentor sat. Her eyes widened when she  
saw him shouting for the 'Cajun Assassin' to knock her  
out.  
  
"Wha..?"  
  
As if it was a signal, Renard lunged at her,  
wrapping his arm around her waist. She tried to shove  
him back but he had pulled her off the ground and  
pressed her against his body. She glared at him as she  
struggled to break free.  
  
"Let me give you a taste of what'll happen later," he  
said then pressed his lips onto hers. Despite the almost  
paralyzing feelings of disgust and revulsion at the  
kiss, Queen began to lash out her foot to break the  
hold. However, she froze when he brought his other hand  
up and grabbed her breast. Her eyes again grew wide in  
shock.  
  
*What sick piece of garbage are you?!?* she  
thought. *I'm a guy, Dammit! A GUY!*  
  
Rage filled him to the core as his memories came  
flooding back. He wasn't 'Queen Heart', The  
Gambling King's prize student, fighter and  
accomplice. He was Ranma Saotome and he was  
mad....  
  
"LET ME GO!!"  
  
The force of Ranma's ki field sent Tsubasa slamming  
into the wall. The angry girl spun around in time to  
see her attacker trying without success to stand. Ranma  
noted absently that the main reason for the disguise  
expert's failure was that he couldn't get out of what  
was left of his 'clothes hamper' disguise.  
  
Tsubasa looked up in horror as the enraged girl grabbed  
his t-shirt and hoisted him off the ground.  
  
"You... you're not Ukyo!"  
  
"Doesn't matter, you sick freak!" Ranma growled. She  
slammed him against the wall. "How dare you grope  
me like some piece of meat!"  
  
Tsubasa's eyes seemed to grow even wider.  
  
"But... but you're dead!"  
  
"DO I LOOK DEAD?!?!" Ranma yelled.  
  
"AHHH! Don't kill me! Please!"  
  
All the color drained out of the martial artist's  
face and she began to tremble.  
  
"K... kill you?" she stammered. Her face mirrored  
her assailants own fear for a second before she  
was able to regain control.  
  
"I promise I'll never do anything like this  
again!"  
  
Ranma ignored his pleas and threw him to the side  
like a sack of potatoes.  
  
"Get out, Tsubasa," she said quietly. "Now."  
  
***********  
  
*THUMP!*  
  
"Mmm?"  
  
Ukyo shifted in her bed. Her ears barely picked  
up the pounding sound from her furo. She almost  
ignored it and went back to sleep when the chef  
realized that she didn't remember how she had  
gotten home.  
  
She jumped out of bed just as a louder thump came   
from the wall and scrambled for her weapons. After   
a few seconds of frantic searching, she grabbed the   
only ones she could find, her throwing spatulas, and   
ran out of the room. Just then, Ukyo heard what   
sounded like a woman's voice shouting at someone. She   
reached the furo door in time to see a terrified Tsubasa   
come racing out like the Hounds of Hades were after   
him. Ignoring the current bane of her existence as he   
scrambled down the hallway, she looked into the   
furo.  
  
Her eyes widened as she saw a familiar girl standing  
in the center of the room. The girl in question  
looked up and gave her a weak smile.  
  
"Hey, Ucchan," Ranma-chan said. "Sorry about the  
mess."  
  
End of chapter 1  
  
David Lindquist  
fido@rma.edu  
http://karaohki.anifics.com/fidolibrary.htm  
Quote= "Fanfic writing is like building a car with C&C being the tune-up!" 


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